Laundry sour composition



Patented Mar. 8, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LAUNDRY SOUR COMPOSITION Edwin S. Garverich, Upper Darby, Pa., assignor to The Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company, Philadelphia Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania No Drawing. Application November 17, 1944, Serial No. 563,987

souring composition which will yield a solution having an efiective souring and antichlor action Without discoloring or otherwise damaging the fabric treated therewith.

Another object of the invention is to provide a souring process which will substantially completely destroy any residual chlorine remaining in bleached and/or laundered fabrics.

The souring action of water solutions of bifluorides and fluosilicates, such as ammonium bifluoride, sodium bifluoride, ammonium fluosilicate, sodium fluosilicate, zinc fiuosilicate and the bifluorides and fiuosilicates of other alkali metals and alkaline earth metals and of hydrofluoric and hydrofluosilicic acid has been known for some time.

These compounds in solution do not possess antichlor action, that is, they will not eliminate any residual chlorine or hypochlorite which may be present in the bleached and/or laundered materials.

The incorporation of certain materials with such compounds to form souring compositions having an effective antichlor action is known. For example, sodium sulfite, sodium bisulfite, stannous chloride and other metal salts have been employed, together with some of the mentioned sours.

According to this invention an improved laundry souring composition; having an antichlor action, is prepared by admixing with the usual sours, thiourea, its substituted products such as diphenyl thiourea, s-diethyl thiourea etc., thioacetamide, or sodium diethyl dithiocarbamate.

The quantity of thiourea, or other antichlor, employed may be varied from 0.5% to 10.0% but quantities in excess of 2% to 3% decrease the effect of the composition while quantities of less than 1% impart negligible antichlor properties to the product when used as a souring bath.

Example 1 Parts Sodium bifluoride 96 Thiourea 2 Example 2 Parts Zinc fluosilicate 98 Thiourea 2 Example 3 Parts Zinc fiuosilicate 48 Ammonium fluosilicat 48 Santomerse #1 (an alkyl benzene sulfonate wetting agent in which the alkyl group is derived from kerosene and the alkyl benzene radical has no substituents other than the sulfonate group) Thiourea The examples are of solid compositions which are dissolved in water to make up souring bath of required concentration.

It will be understood that the invention may be practiced by adding the desired quantities of sour and thiourea, or other antichlor, to the treating bath or solution separately, or in admixture as in the compositions described, or the goods to be treated may be first passed into a solution of the antichlor and then soured, and that such a process is clearly Within the scope of the claims. In such cases, the amount of thiourea or other antichlor employed in the solution will be generally the same as in cases where it is added together with the sour. Obviously, the actual concentration of the sour and thiourea, or other antichlor, in the treating solution will depend upon the quantity and the condition of the materials treatedwith a given amount of solution, and only the relative quantities of antichlor to sour have been indicated. As employed in a fabric treating solution, the concentration of sour and antichlor is usually low, for example of the order of 1 to 3 ounces per hundred pounds of materials to be treated to give a pH of about 6.0 to 4.0 generally 5.5 to 5.0. In some cases where the goods may have a higher alkalinity or where a higher residual chlorine or chlorine compound is present, somewhat larger amounts of the composition or its constituents may be employed.

It will also be obvious that where the composition is not liquid as prepared, it may be prepared and sold in solid or liquid form. When hydrofiuoric acid is employed as the souring material or compound, it will usually have a strength within the range of from 20% to 35% (HF). When hydrofiuosilicic acid is employed, it will usually have a strength within the range of from 0.5% to 10% (HzSiFe) Further, while fabrics have been referred to 3 herein, it is obvious that fibers, threads, filaments and the like, may equally well be treated with the process of the invention.

Of the thioureas, thiourea. is preferred because of its solubility and its compatibility with the usual sours in prolonged storage.

I claim:

1. A souring composition having antichlor action, consisting essentially of a sour selected from the group consisting of water-soluble acid fluorides and water-soluble fluosilicates and from 0.5% to 10%, based on the weight of the sour, of a thiourea.

2. A souring composition having antichlor action, consisting essentially of a water-soluble fluosilicate and from about 0.5% to about 10%, based on the weight of the sour, of a thiourea.

3. A souring composition having antiohlor action, consisting essentially of zinc fluosilicate and from about 0.5% to about 10%, based on the weight of the sour, of a thiourea.

4. A souring composition having antichlor action, consisting essentially of sodium bifiuoride and from 0.5% to 10%, based on the weight of the sour, of thiourea.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,608,622 Schmidt et a1 Nov. 30, 1926 FOREIGN PATENTS 21 Number Country Date 449,275 Great Britain .a June 24, 1936 OTHER REFERENCES Chemistry of Laundry Materials, Jackman, 1931, page 84. 

